“Artifical manures lead inevitably to artificial nutrition, artificial food, artificial animals, and finally, to artificial men and women.” – Sir Albert Howard, 1940
In the picture above, the grass on the right is what the pasture looked like before we ran our chicken shelter over it. The grass on the left is what it looked like a couple of weeks after. The picture doesn’t do justice to the emerald green swath of grass that seems to magically appear behind the chickens. A few weeks later and the difference is even more stark, with the grass behind the chickens becoming a lush deep green color, becoming very thick and broad-leaved and growing many inches taller than the surrounding pasture.
Most people would look at this and realize that, yes, chicken manure is good fertilizer and good fertilizer makes the grass grow better. But there’s so much more to it than that!
We believe that everything — every rock, molecule of dirt, blade of grass, chicken, cow and person — is imbued with an essential nature. The full expression of that essentiality is what we would call abundant life. In this broken world, there is a gap between what is and what could be. The grass on the left is not only a hint about what the grass could be, it represents what could be for the animals that eat it and, in turn, for the people who eat the animals. The grass on the left is not just different. It is better and more! If a blade of grass can be remarkably transformed through proper nourishment, what about animals? To see animals express their full range of natural behaviors (including what they eat) is truly a joy. It’s a vivid depiction of what can be. What about us? Surely, an essential part of living to our full potential is to be nourished with real food, to involve ourselves in productive work, to live and work in harmony alongside our family and to fulfill our purpose in this life.
We believe that, as human beings, we have the unique role of stewardship in creation. We have the opportunity to partner with one another, with nature and with nature’s God to heal, to make whole and to redeem the land, the food and the people. We do that through relational, multi-generational family farming using holistic, pasture-based methods. We hope that the product of those efforts is great tasting, nutrient-dense beef, lamb, goat, chicken, pork, turkey and eggs. But we hope it will be much more than that. We hope the product will be happiness, vibrant health, energy, creativity, clear thinking, freedom from chronic disease, improved relationships, great meals and great fellowship together and the fulfillment of each and every individual’s purpose in this life!
Is that a tall order? Yes, but we believe it can be done. The grass doesn’t lie!
Well thought-out and written as always Larry.
Appreciate the great info!
Jarrod